When President Donald Trump issued a recent executive order to increase the national supply of phosphorus, he called it “crucial to military readiness and national defense” and a “critical component” of military supply chains. As such, Trump invoked the Defense Production Act of 1950 to boost domestic production.
Also included in the order was the same protection to producers of glyphosate, an herbicide used in agricultural production, which relies on phosphorus as a “crucial precursor element” in its manufacturing. Trump said the widely used herbicide in the country plays “a critical role in maintaining America’s agricultural advantage by enabling farmers to efficiently and cost-effectively produce food and livestock feed.”
